Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

RATS!!!!! Help!!!

56 replies

Annieinparis · 04/02/2024 06:41

Moved house last week after my divorce was finalised. Second night there I hear something in the attic and wall. I tried not to panic and called pest control.

They’ve said its RATS. They’ve put down poison/traps and are coming back in 3 weeks. They couldn’t find the drains (no obvious drain cover) so I need to find our where they are so they can see if that is how they are getting in. Don’t know how to locate the drains though.

I feel broken. This was meant to be a fresh start in a lovely new house, but I can’t stand being here. I can’t eat or sleep. I feel sick.

Does anyone have any positive stories of resolving this. Please help!!!

OP posts:
Mothership4two · 04/02/2024 06:57

Check for any holes around the outside of your house and broken air bricks where they could have got in and block. DH used the garage to dry out and store his vegetables and that attracted them in and we didn't realise we had a broken air brick in the garage and they got into walls. We covered it with a special cover (from Amazon) and DH filled the hole into garage plus a few others with steel wool and some sort of expanding foam that he already had. I chucked in some poison bait first.

They might not have come up the drains and would only get in through cracked pipes. Does anyone keep chickens or have bird feeders around you? That attracts them.

Good luck

LightSpeeds · 04/02/2024 07:03

Is your house a semi-detached or terrace?

One of my family had a really bad rat infestation. The rats were eventually coming across via the neighbour's roof space in a semi-detached house.

Nightmare and so sad in your new place (I had rats once - it's just horrible).

Original poster
Annieinparis · 04/02/2024 07:11

The pest control people said about the airbricks so they are being sorted but he said it was more likely mice get in that way than rats.

House is semi-detached, so I guess we’ll need to look into that as well.

I just want to look into every possibility so there is no way they can get in.

Any ideas how to locate the drains?

OP posts:
LMBoston · 04/02/2024 07:24

I had the same problem, I really feel for you! They were in the roof space above my bathroom — I was weeing in a bucket at night for weeks because I couldn’t bear to go in there and hear them — and I too did pest control, 2 drain surveys etc at great expense. This was during lockdown: terraced cottage with a business next door that was closed during Covid so clearly nice and quiet for them!

The second drain company (rat specialists) suggested putting 2 long screws crosswise at intervals into my rainwater down pipes so the rats couldn’t climb up inside them. After spending over a grand on the other measures, it cost me about 50p to do this and no rats since (touch wood)! Worth a try.

Hope you get rid of them, it’s awful.

Original poster
Annieinparis · 04/02/2024 08:50

Thank you for the tips. I will be doing all of them. Glad to hear it’s been possible to get rid of them. I’m so stressed I have to get this sorted.

OP posts:
Sturnidae · 04/02/2024 09:02

We have had rats recently. Pest control came out, we're now a good few weeks down the line and they went pretty quickly tbh, we've had three visits and the concern is now mice (not move, edited!) which I'm not so worried about as I've dealt with them before!

We couldn't find the entry point and neither could the rat guy, which possibly implies that it's from the sewer into the walls directly so if the problem returns we'll need to speak to a neighbour with the end of the drain and put a no return valve or whatever on the end of the drain which is on their property. Rat guy suggested a drain survey before doing that to confirm (a glorified camera in the sewer) but not to bother until they come back as it'll be a waste of money if they just chanced getting in iyswim?

We were told not to block anything until the problem had gone away, which seemed weird to me but basically we didn't want dead rats in the house and they would hopefully leave to die. We've only found one.

I wasn't comfortable with poison tbh and purposely chose a company who uses it as a last resort, but apparently our problem was that extensive without us knowing, we'd only heard a small amount of movement but knew it was rats as we've had mice before and they're much quieter (which is saying something as they're not quiet at all!), we heard louder scampers but what really did it was hearing the rats bickering in the attic, we've had pet rats so knew what exactly what we were listening to!

I'm our case, the poison could only be placed in the attic due to current living situation, so it's taken longer to shift. But it is happening.

Roselilly36 · 04/02/2024 09:28

Often rats come up from the drain, you need to locate and get fitted a device that allows water to drain, but won’t allow anything to come back up, cheap to buy and easy to fit and will stop the problem if this is how they are getting in.

guineverehadgreeneyes · 04/02/2024 09:39

Annieinparis · 04/02/2024 07:11

The pest control people said about the airbricks so they are being sorted but he said it was more likely mice get in that way than rats.

House is semi-detached, so I guess we’ll need to look into that as well.

I just want to look into every possibility so there is no way they can get in.

Any ideas how to locate the drains?

Contact your water company and ask for a map of the drainage system for your house. It should be indicated on the map which drains are your responsibility and which drains (and any shared drains) are the responsibility of the water company.

You can pay for a camera drain survey to look for cracks and tunnels but these are not cheap. Also check gutters and downpipes and have wire protectors put in the tops of downpipes as they can shin up downpipes.

teengirlmum · 04/02/2024 10:54

Aaah, you poor thing. It WILL get sorted though, so just remind yourself of that. A temporary blip.

All the best in your new home Flowers

ExtraOnions · 04/02/2024 11:01

We had them, it was horrible, so feel you pain.

However, Pest Control using the poison will help to reduce numbers, so you’ll stop hearing them (which I agree is horrible)

Work with your pest controller to help to track where they are coming from, use a tracking powder

Speak to housing standards, ours at the council were great. They can ask neighbours to take action, get the main drains checked etc

Check the outside of your house carefully, we found an entry point, under the flagstones, where the gas pipe comes in. we had the drains checked and they were fine.

Ours is an issue in this row, the houses are early 1800s, with big gaps under the floorboards etc. all the neighbours have had work done.

This get better

2024name · 04/02/2024 11:04

We had a rat problem recently. In our case, it took about three visits from the pest controller, who used poison in bait boxes.

We had them in the loft and they got behind the skirting boards. I hated the idea of them being there, and the constant scratching we heard.

We live quite close to a river, and the high water levels recently have caused the rats to move from their flooded dens to find shelter. Be aware of any source of food. We put a little dried cat food in a dish in the garden for a regular stray, and this may have attracted the rats. I don't think rats are deterred too much by cats.

mumonthehill · 04/02/2024 11:06

A rat can get in through very small spaces so check even places where you think might be too small. They hate wire wool so you could try that in any gaps. We had pest control out and you do want them to die away from the house as ours did not and the smell was awful- we just could not get to where it was.

tothelefttotheleft · 04/02/2024 11:08

How much have pest companies charged?

Original poster
Annieinparis · 04/02/2024 11:10

Thank you. I have contacted water company for a plan (they will get back to me on monday). Will also speak to the council on monday.

I’m cracking up though. I lived with my ex for 2 years whilst the divorce was sorted. He didn’t speak to me or even look at me in that time, even in front of the kids. The new house was meant to be a place where I finally felt safe and comfortable. It probably sounds silly but I feel completely broken by this. I’m so tired of everything being so hard.

OP posts:
Evaka · 04/02/2024 11:13

I'm so sorry OP. I can't stand rats and can feel your stress and exhaustion from your post. Don't have any tips beyond previous posts but sending support xx

wildblue07 · 04/02/2024 11:14

We had an absolutely horrendous rat infestation, the pest control company said it was one of the worst they’d ever seen. Inherited from the previous owners who knew about it!
Ours really took us years to sort because the first drain investigation we did they didn’t do it correctly.
The majority of the time, they are coming from the drains so absolutely get that checked, that’s what ours was and once it was sorted we’ve had no issues since. Also worth checking neighbour’s house too as suggested by PP. In the mean time, lots of poison down replaced regularly.
It is so stressful, I feel for you!

KillRoland · 04/02/2024 11:16

Reading with interest, we had one too a couple of days ago and the bastard escaped under the kitchen units. Early days of resolution for us too (traps and poison behind the baseboard), and dreading the potential stink issue as we have a houseful of guests next weekend. Also the other night it sounded like something was galloping (not exaggerating) around the outside of the house. Rats are blind and use walls for guidance, so I am thinking big rat claws clattering the plastic seal of our bifolds. I feel your pain, OP x

KillRoland · 04/02/2024 11:19

💐@Annieinparis . Just read your update. I’m so sorry, I really hope it turns out to be something than can be resolved quickly so that you can enjoy your new house in peace.

Animatedapple · 04/02/2024 11:21

I have put a lot of rat poison down around the places where they are active. And I put this metal pyramid mesh tubes up the drain pipes - as they would climb up inside the drain pipes and get into the roof that way. You can stop them! It takes effort.

personally I’ve chosen to do it myself rather than use a pest control as I’m a bit frugal and my family are country people and we’ve always dealt with mice and rats ourselves. Part and parcel of life!

DNLove · 04/02/2024 11:25

We had a couple of rats last year. If using a pest control company, skip the camera down drain and if its not an owner business, ask the fella would he put in a drain trap cash in hand, outside of company hours. They'll likely charge a fortune for the camera and propose a drain flap anyway. Keep poison around the edges of the attic as that is their pathway. Check the house for entry points. I also let the neighbours know as they may need to take action also, they could be entering through their house and coming across to yours.

Greensleevevssnotnose · 04/02/2024 11:30

We had rats in our last house. We caught 30 in one day, it made me shudder. Ours were under the floorboards they never got in the house thank god but it was horrible for a while. We blocked up all the holes outside with wire wool and insulation foam, set the traps with peanut butter and chocolate ( we had 18 under the living room floor) and kept resetting them every time one snapped. One managed to drag itself away and that smelled bad for a few weeks but once we got them all they never came back. You can overcome them, don't worry it's not for ever,

Tulipvase · 04/02/2024 11:31

Ours are under the floor and as it’s a mid Victorian terrace, I fear they have access under all the houses. Doesn’t help that one neighbour has an unusable garden and rats love an area that is unused and another feeds the birds on the floor. It just seems like too many issues to actually fully resolve the issue……..

Greensleevevssnotnose · 04/02/2024 11:33

We didn't use poison as it's a horrible way to die, just traps plus with poison they wander off and die where you can't reach them and stink for weeks as they decompose

StrongTea · 04/02/2024 11:37

We have an ongoing rat problem, using a mix of poison and traps. We have chickens so attracted to them handiest thing was setting up a cheap ring type of camera so could see where they were coming from/going to. Amazing how they can get through the smallest space.

Ibizafun · 04/02/2024 21:16

We also have an ongoing problem behind the walls. I just won't use poison as it's agonising for them, so using traps. We've put a valve on the main drain outside so hoping that will do the trick.

Swipe left for the next trending thread